For my musical interests, 2006 marked a moving away from the metal genre and an increased interest in noise, electronics, dark ambient, industrial, martial-industrial and post-industrial (so called "neo-folk") styles of music, which I had been beginning to lean towards in the latter part of 2005. For the most part, I've still been focusing on materials promoted on the excellent labels Steinklang Industries, Cyclic Law, War Office Propaganda, Cold Meat Industry et al.. At the same time, I kept an eye on old metal favorites, although I had very little desire to seek out new metal on my own, relying on best recommendations from here and other places, such as the forums over at Vendlus.com.
As for the list, it is not limited to any specific number of albums, and it is divided into release categories. The order of the albums is roughly the-cream-of-the crop to very-high-quality for the full-length albums. The rest of the categories have little or no order. Also, I'm too lazy to post album artwork at the moment. I'll fix it up later, because I just spent the last 3 hours working on this list, and that would add an unneccesary amount of extra work at present.
Regardless, this, for your pleasure, is Møøse Musik: Edition 2006 (for your distinct Royal Pinkage pleasure).
Note: All release dates are based on information from Discogs.com
2006 Full-Length Albums:
1. Triarii - Pièce Héroique (Eternal Soul)
Album of the year. Hands down. From the beginning to the end an orchestral, martial, militaristic masterpiece that makes you feel like you're in the middle of a movie about Julius Caesar or if you're a person in the middle of "The Triumph of The Will".
2. Der Blutharsch - When Did Wonderland End? (WKN)
I'm not sure if this is a 2005 or a 2006 release. It was released on the on the cusp of 2005/2006 and I didn't get a chance to put it in, so here it is. With a new instrument/band based approach, Der Blutharsch rocks the night away... and stuff.
3. Rome - Nera (Cold Meat Industry)
After the well acclaimed EP "Berlin" (see below) Rome released their full length this October to much success. An eclectic mix of dark ambient, post-industrial, neofolk, gothic... very difficult to pin down a single description of the sound. Good easy listening for Iron Youth.
4. Karjalan Sissit - Tanssit On Loppu Nyt (Cyclic Law)
While with a martial/neoclassical/orchestral sound comparable to outfits such as Triarii and In Slaughter Natives, Karjalan Sissit differs in theme, touching on subjects of alcoholism, isolationism, anti-socialism, domestic violence. In general, something that could only really be realized in the mind one of those Finnish whackos living in the dark for half the year.
5. Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio - Apocalips (Cold Meat Industry)
"mmm... erotic cakes..." Erotic themed post-industrial/neofolk from Sweden. Another fine product of people who have too much time to play in the dark.
6. Negurã Bunget - Om (Code666)
Worth the wait? Hell yes. Introduction required? Hell no.
7. Spiritual Front - Armageddon Gigolò (Trisol)
In a recent interview that I watched on youtube with Simone Salvatori, he said that a problem of Spiritual Front was that they're "too 'rock' for the neofolk people, and too 'goth' for the indie/rock people" and "While I like to listen to Death In June, I also like Johnny Cash." In essence, Armageddon Gigolo brings a wide variety of new influences into their sound and makes out like dark cabaret music for the new millenium.
8. Current 93 - Black Ships Ate The Sky (Durtro/Jnana)
I would have originally placed this up higher on my list, but I haven't actually listened to it as much as I thought I did. Despite that, David Tibet has created a new masterpiece of hallucinatory, dreamlike, contemporary music, going back to a more acoustic approach that was more widely seen on their early-mid 90s albums such as "Thunder Perfect Mind" and "All The Pretty Little Horsies", with overbearing thematic Christian mysticism.
9. Stahlwerk 9 - 1905 (Achtung Baby!)
A dark ambient album based on the first Russian Revolution in 1905.
10. Stahlwerk 9 - Der Tod Nagelt Die Augen Zu... (Steinklang Industries)
A noisier industrial/ambient album of Stahlwerk 9. Opens with the Dies Irae march sampled from "The Seventh Seal". Goes straight to noise hell proceeding.
11. Rasthof Dachau - Prison Poems (Steinklang Industries)
Prison Poems stands out with its conceptual basis on some poems written by a forgotten imprisoned IRA volunteer who wrote these poems on cigarette and toilet paper and hidden within a pen which the poet hid inside his body, eventually dying on a hunger strike. Cold electronics, with some of the lyrics taken from these poems.
12. David Galas - The Cataclysm (Vendlus Records)
Some of you might be familiar with this one already. Kind of a hybrid Gothic Rock/Metal record, released on the always quality Vendlus records.
13. Geneviève Pasquier - Soap Bubble Factory (Ant-Zen)
A latecomer to the list, Industrial with glammy & sexual undertones. Yeah, you guys wouldn't like it... NEXT!
14. Tribe of Circle - Children Of A Weakened God (Hau Ruck!)
Another latecomer. More martial-industrial/martial-ambient in the styles of Storm of Capricorn, Triarii, and the like, but more of a tribal musical style.
15. Wolves In The Throne Room - Diadem Of Twelve Stars (Vendlus)
No need for introduction here. You're all metalheads, right?
16. Orplid - Sterbender Satyr (Auerbach)
Orplid's new album is a bit of a departure from their earlier albums with less emphasis on strong acoustic material, but moreso on their more laid-back, ephemeral side.
17. Graumahd - Cheru (Hau Ruck!)
Classy all-acoustic neofolk sung in German, a side project of Der Blutharsch. For fans of Forseti, et al.
18. Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain (The End Records)
No introduction required.
19. Cold Fusion - ORP Orzeł (War Office Propaganda)
Dark ambient based around the theme of a legendary Polish submarine lost at sea in WWII.
20. Rose Rovine E Amanti - Rituale Romanum (Cold Spring Records)
Pro-Catholic/Pro-Europe Italian neofolk.
21. H.E.R.R. - Vondel's Lucifer: First Movement (Cold Spring Records)
The first movement of an opera based on a Dutch playwright's rendition of the Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained myth.
22. Green Army Fraction - Caste War... Back In Their Place (Steinklang Industries)
Ugly Power Electronics.
23. Scald - Vermiculatus (Code666)
Through composed metal/industrial/prog/wtf. No time signatures, no coherency, just music. Yup.
2006 EPs:
I actually didn't hear too many EPs this year.
Rome - Berlin (Cold Meat Industry)
The precusor to Nera, mentioned above.
Jesu - Silver (Hydrahead)
Jesu is great, yo.
2006 Split Releases:
There was a slough of great split releases out this year, here are my favorites:
Stahlwerk 9 / Cold Fusion / Rukkanor - Triumvire (War Office Propaganda)
Three part continuous narrative by a Triumvirate of bands to tell the story of Julius Caesar through dark ambient, martial-industrial, and neofolk.
Belborn & Rose Rovine E Amanti - Grain (War Office Propaganda)
Probably my favorite split release of the year. The split material on this record is probably better than the solo efforts of these bands. Neofolk supposedly focused around the spiritual symbol of grain, but even though it's in german and italian I still can't tell what the actual music has to do with grain. Oh well!
Cawatana / Storm Of Capricorn - Cawatana / Storm Of Capricorn (Twilight Records)
No real theme for this one, just good music from two great neofolk/martial bands
Storm Of Capricorn / Paranoia Inducta - Jama (Beast Of Prey)
Themed on the tragedy of the Balkan world. 'Jama' was the title of a poem written by a poet from that region of the world, assassinated with political motives. Very dark, ambient-based collaborative split release.
2006 Reissues:
Quite a few good reissues of OOP records this year as well.
Death In June - The Guilty Have No Pride (New European Recordings)
Death In June - Burial (New European Recordings)
This year two early and long out of print Death In June records finally saw a reissue. The very beginning of military-pop music in the early-80s.
Today Is The Day - Willpower (Supernova Records)
Steve Austin finally reissued Today Is The Day's long OOP second album on his newly formed Supernova Records label.
Kirlian Camera - Erinnerung 2006 (Twilight Records)
Finally hearing some early Kirlian Camera material it's much easier to see how they get lumped into the 'neofolk' category, even if their material is largely EBM and darkwave.
Les Joyaux de la Princesse - 1940 - 1944 (LVN)
Reissued for the Triumvirat festival last spring in die Schweiz. Very nice, considering that you'd have to pay hundreds of dollars to get the music in this boxset in their original forms.
Sol Invictus - Sol Veritas Lux (Tursa USA)
I haven't actually picked up this reissue yet, but I've heard the record, and it's good to see this classic release of early neofolk back in print.
As for the list, it is not limited to any specific number of albums, and it is divided into release categories. The order of the albums is roughly the-cream-of-the crop to very-high-quality for the full-length albums. The rest of the categories have little or no order. Also, I'm too lazy to post album artwork at the moment. I'll fix it up later, because I just spent the last 3 hours working on this list, and that would add an unneccesary amount of extra work at present.
Regardless, this, for your pleasure, is Møøse Musik: Edition 2006 (for your distinct Royal Pinkage pleasure).
Note: All release dates are based on information from Discogs.com
2006 Full-Length Albums:
1. Triarii - Pièce Héroique (Eternal Soul)
Album of the year. Hands down. From the beginning to the end an orchestral, martial, militaristic masterpiece that makes you feel like you're in the middle of a movie about Julius Caesar or if you're a person in the middle of "The Triumph of The Will".
2. Der Blutharsch - When Did Wonderland End? (WKN)
I'm not sure if this is a 2005 or a 2006 release. It was released on the on the cusp of 2005/2006 and I didn't get a chance to put it in, so here it is. With a new instrument/band based approach, Der Blutharsch rocks the night away... and stuff.
3. Rome - Nera (Cold Meat Industry)
After the well acclaimed EP "Berlin" (see below) Rome released their full length this October to much success. An eclectic mix of dark ambient, post-industrial, neofolk, gothic... very difficult to pin down a single description of the sound. Good easy listening for Iron Youth.
4. Karjalan Sissit - Tanssit On Loppu Nyt (Cyclic Law)
While with a martial/neoclassical/orchestral sound comparable to outfits such as Triarii and In Slaughter Natives, Karjalan Sissit differs in theme, touching on subjects of alcoholism, isolationism, anti-socialism, domestic violence. In general, something that could only really be realized in the mind one of those Finnish whackos living in the dark for half the year.
5. Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio - Apocalips (Cold Meat Industry)
"mmm... erotic cakes..." Erotic themed post-industrial/neofolk from Sweden. Another fine product of people who have too much time to play in the dark.
6. Negurã Bunget - Om (Code666)
Worth the wait? Hell yes. Introduction required? Hell no.
7. Spiritual Front - Armageddon Gigolò (Trisol)
In a recent interview that I watched on youtube with Simone Salvatori, he said that a problem of Spiritual Front was that they're "too 'rock' for the neofolk people, and too 'goth' for the indie/rock people" and "While I like to listen to Death In June, I also like Johnny Cash." In essence, Armageddon Gigolo brings a wide variety of new influences into their sound and makes out like dark cabaret music for the new millenium.
8. Current 93 - Black Ships Ate The Sky (Durtro/Jnana)
I would have originally placed this up higher on my list, but I haven't actually listened to it as much as I thought I did. Despite that, David Tibet has created a new masterpiece of hallucinatory, dreamlike, contemporary music, going back to a more acoustic approach that was more widely seen on their early-mid 90s albums such as "Thunder Perfect Mind" and "All The Pretty Little Horsies", with overbearing thematic Christian mysticism.
9. Stahlwerk 9 - 1905 (Achtung Baby!)
A dark ambient album based on the first Russian Revolution in 1905.
10. Stahlwerk 9 - Der Tod Nagelt Die Augen Zu... (Steinklang Industries)
A noisier industrial/ambient album of Stahlwerk 9. Opens with the Dies Irae march sampled from "The Seventh Seal". Goes straight to noise hell proceeding.
11. Rasthof Dachau - Prison Poems (Steinklang Industries)
Prison Poems stands out with its conceptual basis on some poems written by a forgotten imprisoned IRA volunteer who wrote these poems on cigarette and toilet paper and hidden within a pen which the poet hid inside his body, eventually dying on a hunger strike. Cold electronics, with some of the lyrics taken from these poems.
12. David Galas - The Cataclysm (Vendlus Records)
Some of you might be familiar with this one already. Kind of a hybrid Gothic Rock/Metal record, released on the always quality Vendlus records.
13. Geneviève Pasquier - Soap Bubble Factory (Ant-Zen)
A latecomer to the list, Industrial with glammy & sexual undertones. Yeah, you guys wouldn't like it... NEXT!
14. Tribe of Circle - Children Of A Weakened God (Hau Ruck!)
Another latecomer. More martial-industrial/martial-ambient in the styles of Storm of Capricorn, Triarii, and the like, but more of a tribal musical style.
15. Wolves In The Throne Room - Diadem Of Twelve Stars (Vendlus)
No need for introduction here. You're all metalheads, right?
16. Orplid - Sterbender Satyr (Auerbach)
Orplid's new album is a bit of a departure from their earlier albums with less emphasis on strong acoustic material, but moreso on their more laid-back, ephemeral side.
17. Graumahd - Cheru (Hau Ruck!)
Classy all-acoustic neofolk sung in German, a side project of Der Blutharsch. For fans of Forseti, et al.
18. Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain (The End Records)
No introduction required.
19. Cold Fusion - ORP Orzeł (War Office Propaganda)
Dark ambient based around the theme of a legendary Polish submarine lost at sea in WWII.
20. Rose Rovine E Amanti - Rituale Romanum (Cold Spring Records)
Pro-Catholic/Pro-Europe Italian neofolk.
21. H.E.R.R. - Vondel's Lucifer: First Movement (Cold Spring Records)
The first movement of an opera based on a Dutch playwright's rendition of the Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained myth.
22. Green Army Fraction - Caste War... Back In Their Place (Steinklang Industries)
Ugly Power Electronics.
23. Scald - Vermiculatus (Code666)
Through composed metal/industrial/prog/wtf. No time signatures, no coherency, just music. Yup.
2006 EPs:
I actually didn't hear too many EPs this year.
Rome - Berlin (Cold Meat Industry)
The precusor to Nera, mentioned above.
Jesu - Silver (Hydrahead)
Jesu is great, yo.
2006 Split Releases:
There was a slough of great split releases out this year, here are my favorites:
Stahlwerk 9 / Cold Fusion / Rukkanor - Triumvire (War Office Propaganda)
Three part continuous narrative by a Triumvirate of bands to tell the story of Julius Caesar through dark ambient, martial-industrial, and neofolk.
Belborn & Rose Rovine E Amanti - Grain (War Office Propaganda)
Probably my favorite split release of the year. The split material on this record is probably better than the solo efforts of these bands. Neofolk supposedly focused around the spiritual symbol of grain, but even though it's in german and italian I still can't tell what the actual music has to do with grain. Oh well!
Cawatana / Storm Of Capricorn - Cawatana / Storm Of Capricorn (Twilight Records)
No real theme for this one, just good music from two great neofolk/martial bands
Storm Of Capricorn / Paranoia Inducta - Jama (Beast Of Prey)
Themed on the tragedy of the Balkan world. 'Jama' was the title of a poem written by a poet from that region of the world, assassinated with political motives. Very dark, ambient-based collaborative split release.
2006 Reissues:
Quite a few good reissues of OOP records this year as well.
Death In June - The Guilty Have No Pride (New European Recordings)
Death In June - Burial (New European Recordings)
This year two early and long out of print Death In June records finally saw a reissue. The very beginning of military-pop music in the early-80s.
Today Is The Day - Willpower (Supernova Records)
Steve Austin finally reissued Today Is The Day's long OOP second album on his newly formed Supernova Records label.
Kirlian Camera - Erinnerung 2006 (Twilight Records)
Finally hearing some early Kirlian Camera material it's much easier to see how they get lumped into the 'neofolk' category, even if their material is largely EBM and darkwave.
Les Joyaux de la Princesse - 1940 - 1944 (LVN)
Reissued for the Triumvirat festival last spring in die Schweiz. Very nice, considering that you'd have to pay hundreds of dollars to get the music in this boxset in their original forms.
Sol Invictus - Sol Veritas Lux (Tursa USA)
I haven't actually picked up this reissue yet, but I've heard the record, and it's good to see this classic release of early neofolk back in print.
